Hand protecting mitt



Sept. 1., 1964 Filed Oct. 8, 1962 R. A. WARGQ HAND PROTECTING M ITT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR RICHARD A. WARGO Sept. 1, 1964 R. A. WARGO HAND PROTECTING MITT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 8, 1962 IN VEN TOR RICHARD A. WARGO United States Patent Filed Oct. 8, 1962, Ser. No. 229,091 2 Claims. or. 2-20 This invention relates generally to a mitt for protecting the hand of a participant while engaging in various sports necessitating the firm gripping of the handle of sporting equipment.

There are various sports such as baseball, tennis, golf, hammer throwing and the like, which require the participant to firmly grip the handle of a particular piece of sporting equipment with one or both of the hands being subjected to severe stresses or rubbing action and severe vibration when the implement strikes its intended object, all of which tends to cause injury and soreness to the hand. In pre-season baseball practice, when the weather is relatively cold, severe stinging and resulting injury of the hand is prevalent because of the vibrations that are set up when the ball is struck by the bat.

The present invention protects the hand of the sportsman while engaging in a particular sport wherein a handle is firmly gripped with the protecting device or mitt of the invention absorbing a substantial portion of any vibrations that are set up while using the particular piece of sporting equipment and at the same time permitting the user of the protecting mitt to firmly grip the handle and have the proper and necessary feel for manipulation of the piece of sporting equipment. It is found that to provide a satisfactory hand protecting mitt which will not be objectional to sportsmen, which will be useful with relation to a variety of sports and which will be attractive to team managers it is necessary that the protecting mitt be extremely simple and easy to put on and take off; amply protect the hand of the wearer including the base of the thumb and the palm while not interfering with proper grip and feel of the piece of sporting equipment; and be economical and universally adaptable in fitting a wide range of hand sizes and useable with either the left or the right hand. The present invention fulfills all of these requirements providing an extremely desirable and effective hand protective device.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved hand protecting mitt.

Other and further objects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description proceeds.

With the aforementioned objects in view, the invention comprises an arrangement construction and combination of the elements of the inventive organization in such a manner as to attain the results desired as hereinafter more particularly set forth in the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment, said embodiment being shown by the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view showing the mitt applied to the hand of a wearer;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the hand protecting mitt, arranged to fit the right hand, with this view showing the palm side of the protecting mitt and the opening through which the fingers of the hand extend; and

FIGURE 3 is also a perspective view of the mitt with the mitt being turned inside out from the FIG. 2 view in order to fit the left hand and with this view again showing the palm side of the mitt and the opening through which the wrist of the wearer extends.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters are used throughout to designate like elements, the hand protecting mitt illustratively disclosed therein is, in effect, comprised of two portions, the first identified as 1 is generally in the form on an annulus or collar which is adapted to extend around or encircle the hand of the 'ice wearer at the region of the palm and the other portion, identified generally as 2 is in the general form of a loop that extends laterally from the annulus 1 and encircles the base of the thumb as shown in FIG. 1. The mitt is fabricated of suitable elastic material, such as elastic cloth as is commonly employed in various garments, so that it may be fitted to and used with a substantial range of sizes of hands and still embrace and conform snugly to the contours of the hand. In the illustrative arrangement the mitt is fabricated from two different piece of material and is sewn together to produce the finished unit. The annulus or cuff 1 is made of a straight piece of suitable elastic material with the ends being joined by sewing at 7 with a suitable stitch such as the zigzag stitch illustrated. The loop 2 is also a straight piece of material the ends of which are cut at a suitable angle so that the loop will extend from the annulus 1 at the desired angle for encircling the base of the thumb. These diagonally cut ends of the loop 2 are then sewn to the annulus 1 at the juncture 8 again with a suitable stitch such as the zig-zag shown. It will be appreciated that in lieu of fabricating the protecting mitt in this manner it may be made in any other desired manner to produce the finished product, as for example it may be knitted all in one piece.

With this protecting mitt the annulus 1 extends from the base of the palm to generally the location where the fingers extend from the palm portion of the hand. Almost the entire extent of each of the fingers extends from the mitt projecting through the opening 6. While the lateral extent of the loop 2 is such that it covers the base of the thumb thereby protecting the metacarpal bone of the thumb and the opponens pollicis muscle of the thumb, the major portion of the thumb itself extends from the mitt projecting through the opening identified as 5. At the inner end of the loop 2 and the annulus 1 there is provided the opening 4 through which the wrist of the wearer extends. By permitting the fingers and the thumb to extend from the mitt the wearer is assured of having the proper feel and an excellent grip on the piece of sporting equipment that he is using. Notwithstanding affording this necessary feel with regard to the particular piece of sporting equipment, the hand of the wearer is protected in the region of the palm and the base of the thumb wherein injury and soreness generally occurs.

In order to provide for a better grip and more positive assurance against slipping of the handle in the hand of the wearer the palm region of the mitt is coated on both sides of the cloth with a suitable resilient material which has a high coefficient of friction. This coating, in the drawings, is identified as 3 and it has been found that a coating of raw rubber provides excellent results.

With the mitt constructed in the fashion described, it will fit either the right or the left hand equally well and in order to convert it for use from one hand to the other it is only necessary that it be turned inside out.

FIGURE 2 shows the mitt arranged to fit the right hand as illustrated in FIG. 1, while FIG. 3 illustrates the mitt turned inside out from the arrangement of FIG. 2 so that it will fit the left hand. When thus converting from one hand to the other the same palm portion overlies each of the hands so that the rubber or other coating 3 to pro vide for better gripping qualities is properly positioned in either case.

Since the mitt is so easily and quickly taken off and put on it may conveniently be worn only when gripping the particular piece of equipment thereby tending to prevent the hand from perspiring in hot weather because of the mitt, with perspiration causing loss of good grip. To further reduce the possibility of the hand perspiring the elastic cloth of which the mitt is fabricated may be extremely porous having an open mesh.

It will thus be seen that with the present invention an economical and relatively simple hand protecting mitt is provided which is generally universally applicable being useable with a wide range of sizes of hands as well as with either the left or the right hand while being efiec tive to adequately protect the hand. Since the mitt is fabricated of elastic type cloth it is sufiiciently thin so that the wearer does not lose the form of the handle that is being gripped with the mitt conforming both to the hand of the wearer and the handle which is being firmly held in the hand.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that such is merely illustrative and not restrictive and that variations and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth but desire to avail myself of such changes as fall within the purview of my invention.

I claim:

1. A hand protector for use while engaging in various sports comprising an annular band of elastic cloth stretchable to permit it to be slipped over hands of various sizes and snuggly encirclethe hand in the palm region, said band having an axial dimension such that it extends from the base of the palm, terminating short of the wrist, to generally the juncture of the fingers so that a substantial portion of each of the fingers of the wearer will extend therefrom, an extension from said band in the form of an angularly disposed loop of elastic cloth extending in a direction so that it is disposed over the portion of the hand of the wearer forming the base of the thumb with the loop being of generally uniform width and extending from the edge of the annulus adjacent the base of the palm and joined to this edge at the opposite ends of the loop with the lateral extent of the loop being such that a major portion of the thumb protrudes therefrom both surfaces of the cloth of the protector in the region of the palm being provided with a coating of rubber to provide for good gripping action, and with the organization being such that it is converted for use from one hand to the other by turning it inside out.

2. The mitt of claim 1 wherein the elastic cloth is of open mesh providing porousness for ventilation thereby reducing the tendency of the hand of the wearer to perspire.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 203,959 Townsend May 21, 1878 482,647 Obear Sept. 13, 1892 2,314,545 Lindfelt Mar. 23, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 21,188 Great Britain Oct. 19, 1914 

1. A HAND PROTECTOR FOR USE WHILE ENGAGING IN VARIOUS SPORTS COMPRISING AN ANNULAR BAND OF ELASTIC CLOTH STRETCHABLE TO PERMIT IT TO BE SLIPPED OVER HANDS OF VARIOUS SIZES AND SNUGGLY ENCIRCLE THE HAND IN THE PALM REGION, SAID BAND HAVING AN AXIAL DIMENSION SUCH THAT IT EXTENDS FROM THE BASE OF THE PALM, TERMINATING SHORT OF THE WRIST, TO GENERALLY THE JUNCTURE OF THE FINGERS SO THAT A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF EACH OF THE FINGERS OF THE WEARER WILL EXTEND THEREFROM, AN EXTENSION FROM SAID BAND IN THE FORM OF AN ANGULARLY DISPOSED LOOP OF ELASTIC CLOTH EXTENDING IN A DIRECTION SO THAT IT IS DISPOSED OVER THE PORTION OF THE HAND OF THE WEARER FORMING THE BASE OF THE THUMB WITH THE LOOP BEING OF GENERALLY UNIFORM WIDTH AND EXTENDING FROM THE EDGE OF THE ANNULUS ADJACENT THE BASE OF THE PALM AND JOINED TO THIS EDGE AT THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE LOOP WITH THE LATERAL EXTENT OF THE LOOP BEING SUCH THAT A MAJOR PORTION OF THE THUMB PROTRUDES THEREFROM BOTH SURFACES OF THE CLOTH OF THE PROTECTOR IN THE REGION OF THE PALM BEING PROVIDED WITH A COATING OF RUBBER TO PROVIDE FOR GOOD GRIPPING ACTION, AND WITH THE ORGANIZATION BEING SUCH THAT IT IS CONVERTED FOR USE FROM ONE HAND TO THE OTHER BY TURNING IT INSIDE OUT. 